From (The Valley of Jehoshaphat / Gethsemane) we went to the basilica of Holy Sion, which contains many remarkable things, including the corner stone which the Bible tells us was “rejected by the builders” <Ps. 118:22>. The Lord Jesus entered this church, which used to be the House of Saint James, and found this ugly stone lying about somewhere, so he took it and placed it in the corner. You can hold it in your hands and lift it. Then put your ear in the corner, and the sound is hke the murmuring of a crowd. In this church is the column at which the Lord was scourged, and it has on it a miraculous mark. When he clasped it, his chest clove to the stone, and you can see the marks of both his hands, his fingers, and his palms. They are so clear that you can use them to take “measures” for any kind of disease, and people can wear them round their neck and be cured. On this column is the horn from which kings were anointed (including David), and the church also contains the crown of thorns with which they crowned the Lord, and the lance with which they struck him in the side. There are also many of the stones with which they stoned Stephen, and the small column in which they set the cross on which Blessed Peter was crucified at Rome. The Cup of the Apostles is there, with which they celebrated mass after the Lord had risen again, and many other remarkable things which I cannot remember. A monastery for women is there. l saw a human head enclosed in a reliquary of gold adorned with gems, which they say is that of Saint Theodota the martyr. Many drink out of it to gain a blessing, and so did I.
(transl. Wilkinson)
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